The first time she spotted him, Karen Jack didn't have enough time to fish out her camera before he slipped off into the sea.But then, very obligingly, the rare albino otter came back and stayed for lunch.Miss Jack managed to take this snap and a few others while the creature enjoyed his morning meal on the rocky coastline of Moray in north-east Scotland. 
She was extremely lucky - as sightings of albino otters in the wild are highly unusual.In Britain only one other live albino has been spotted in the wild in recent years and throughout the world hardly any reasonable pictures of the creatures exist.Miss Jack said: 'I have been into photography for about three years as a hobby and love photographing wildlife, landscapes and my two cats.'But it was just an amazing and surreal view of the albino otter, and for it to sit there and eat while we watched was mind blowing.'Yesterday Grace Yoxon, of the Skye-based International Otter Survival Fund, said there were hardly any records of albino otters in the wild and they were almost never seen outside a museum.
Mrs Yoxon added: 'To be able to get such wonderful photos is exceptional.'Karen was extremely lucky to have her camera with her - I am very envious.'She said the creature, a Eurasian otter, was unlikely to be disadvantaged by its white coat now that it is an adult. 'Otters don't really have any predators,' she said.'I would think the biggest risk may be people coming to see it.'Otters have soft, insulated underfur protected by an outer layer of longer hair which traps air, keeping them dry and warm underwater.Eurasian otters must eat 15 per cent of their bodyweight a day. In warmer waters they need to catch 3oz of fish an hour to survive.Although fish make up the majority of their diet, they are also partial to frogs and crustaceans.Some have become expert at opening shellfish.Most species live beside water, using it to hunt and travel, but they return to dry land frequently to ensure their fur does not become waterlogged.In March, IOSF took into its care an otter which latched on to two teenagers who were sledging, then followed them home.The cub was spotted in snow under a bush at Windygates, Fife, in February.He was nicknamed Dylan because one of the youngsters was playing a harmonica - an instrument synonymous with singer Bob Dylan.
One of Britain's ugliest dogs is licking his wounds after mindless yobs battered him and pulled out his only tuft of hair in a mindless attack.
Police in Cambridgeshire are appealing for information after shaken Mugly - who won infamy when he was crowned Britain's Ugliest Dog in 2005 - was apparently set upon by a gang of vicious youths.
The hideous prize-winning pooch, a Shitzu-Chinese Crested cross, was rescued by a passer-by who saw off the thugs that were picking on the defenceless dog.
They were allegedly seen hitting him with a stick and kicking and punching him.
The local lady recognised the practically hairless cat-sized dog from missing posters that owner Bev Nicholson, 46, had put up in the Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, neighbourhood. He had escaped from a ground-floor window at home on Thursday and was missing for the day.
'They had pulled out a little tuft of hair he had on his neck,' said Bev. 'It was the only hair he had and they even managed to take off one of his eyebrows. I can't even work out how they would have done that.
It's not like people carry scissors or a shaver around with them.' And mum-of-four Bev, a support worker for dwarf actors, reckons the youngsters may have carried out the beating because they didn't realise what Mugly was.
'I was worried sick about him,' said Bev. 'He'd never gone missing before and you worry about letting him out because of what he looks like and the fact he's so friendly.
'You just can't think why these people would do such a horrible thing. Part of me thinks they might not have even realised that he was a dog because of him having no hair so they just bullied him.
'It's horrible because he loves people so much he probably thought it was just a game and all they were interested in was hurting him.
'He was really shaken and cowered in to me when he got back to me. He was swollen and bruised around his face and rear end.' Worried Bev took her beloved six-year-old mutt to Broadway Veterinary Hospital where he had a check-up.
Vet Adela Navarro said: 'He had a few cuts and was bruised and a little shaken up. We asked the owner to keep an eye on his stools for internal bleeding as a precaution.'
Distraught Bev's main worry when the pooch was missing was the fact that he wouldn't have been getting special care for his unusual needs.
She said: 'Because he's bald I have to put factor 50 sun-tan lotion on him so he doesn't burn. And because his lower teeth jut out he has to have his food in small pieces. He can't chew properly so you have to break it down for him.
'My main worry was that anyone who found him and tried to care for him wouldn't realise what's required to keep him well, so we got 25 posters up around the area pretty quick.'
Thankfully, charmer Mugly is now safely recovering at home but has sadly lost some of his sparkle. Bev said: 'He's a big character in our house and I was so relieved to have him back but he's definitely lost some of his trust.
'He seems a bit unsure when you are playing with him and his toys when normally he wouldn't think twice. I hope the police catch these people and teach them a lesson.'
A daredevil flew into the record books yesterday after becoming the world's youngest wing-walker - at just eight years old.
Fearless Tiger Brewer was strapped to the wings of his grandfather's biplane and reached speeds of 100mph at 1,000ft.
He claimed the world record from the previous holder - Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason's son, Guy, who held the record after wing-walking aged 11 in 2001.
Speaking after the five-minute flight, he said: 'It was quite scary but once I was up there it was really really good.
'The view was amazing, everything looked so small I could see everyone below but couldn't make out who was who.
'I want to do it again now. It really was amazing. The only thing that hurt was the windburn, but apart from that I loved it.'
The trip was arranged by Tiger's grandfather Vic Norman, who owns the only formation wing-walking team in the world, Team Guinot.
He also piloted the plane during the record-breaking flight.
Tiger was strapped on top the wings of a Boeing Spearman biplane and took to the skies from RFC Rendcomb Airfield near Cirencester, at 11am.
He was watched by proud dad Colin, 42, a television director, mum Zoe, 39, an interior designer, and five-year-old sister Flame.
Colin, of Willesden, north London, said: 'I am so proud of Tiger I can't believe he has done it.
'This time last year he wouldn't even attempt a big water slide and now he has been on top of an aeroplane. I am so pleased.
'He was absolutely fantastic but there was no pressure. We said to him earlier that he didn't have to go through with it if he didn't want to, but he was determined.
'It was amazing to see him on top of the plane, he was a bit nervous but it has been a great personal achievement.'
Proud grandfather Vic, 61, said it was fantastic to take one of his seven grandchildren up in the air.
He said: 'He looked slightly nervous at first but he soon relaxed and looked like he was really enjoying it.
'We had a code to let me know if he wanted to go down but he didn't use it.
'I am really really proud to have taken him up and I am so pleased he now has the world record for the youngest wing-walker.
'It's something he can carry with him for the rest of his life. I am sure I will take him up again.
'He shares my passion for flying and it will be a very special experience for us both.'
Victims of landmines come in all shapes and sizes and Mosha the elephant is no exception.
Mosha, a baby elephant from Thailand, became the world's first pachyderm to be fitted with a prosthetic limb in 2007.
But the three-year-old has been growing so quickly she's outgrown two previous artificial legs and is now on her third.
Amazingly, Mosha is not the only elephant to be fitted with an artificial limb.
Another landmine victim, Motola, will also receive a prosthetic leg this weekend - 10 years after losing her left leg.
'I do hope she will accept the new leg. It would be wonderful to see Motola and Baby Mosha walking together side-by-side," said Soraida Salvala, secretary general of the charity Friends of the Asian Elephant.
Motola was injured in 1999 while she was working at a logging camp along the Myanmar-Thailand border. The area is known to be covered in land mines.
Her badly injured foot was amputated and the elephant managed to hobble along on three legs after the operation.
She was fitted with a canvas, shoe-like device two years ago, but will receive her own tailor-made artificial leg this weekend.
'It has been 10 years now, but in all these long years Motola enjoyed a happy life, walking out of her shelter for a sun bath,' said Salvala.
Experts in Thailand have already made casts of Motola's injured left foot for the permanent plastic leg. It must be strong enough to support the 48-year-old's three-ton weight.
Although Motola is the second elephant to receive an artificial leg, she has already been in the record books following her injury.
During the operation to remove her left foot, she received enough anaesthetic to knock out 70 people - a fact that put her into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2000.
Motola's new leg is being constructed by the Prostheses Foundation, an organisation that usually makes cheap but effective artificial limbs for human amputees.
The injuries of the two elephants have highlighted the difficulties facing the majestic creatures in Thailand.
Both are now being cared for at the Elephant Hospital in Northern Thailand. The hospital was set up by the FAE and is the only elephant hospital in the world.
It has treated thousands of elephants for ailments ranging from eye infection to gunshot wounds.
A number of elephants have also been injured by land mines, but the charity says this is just one problem facing the animals in Thailand.
They say the number of domesticated pachyderms has dropped from 13,400 in 1950 to today's estimated 2,500, while the number of wild elephants has also dropped dramatically.
Built 3,000 years before the miracle of Stonehenge, this is Britain's oldest and best preserved house.The remains of the strongly built shelter, discovered on the Isle of Man, provide a rare window into the domestic life of hunter-gatherers 9,000 years ago.Unearthed by accident during extension work to the island's airport runway, the 23ft wide pit is giving up extraordinary archaeological secrets.Most exciting is the revelation that the people of the mesolithic age, long regarded as nomads who wandered ancient Britain in search of food, were actually very good at settling down.
In fact, 12,000 pieces of worked flint, along with a stockpile of tools, show that the homeowners were in residence for long periods at a time. Not to mention the buried mounds of hazelnut shells found around the house - a strong hint of what the ancient inhabitants nibbled for dinner. It is thought the discarded shells were thrown into the fire and then swept out to the edges of the property in an ancient housework ritual.A ring of postholes around the edge of the pit, along with carbonised timbers, suggests the building's supports were about six inches thick and far from a makeshift shelter.Manx National Heritage field archaeologist Andrew Johnson confirmed the building showed that people from this time were settled for long periods.'The received wisdom is that 8,000 years ago people constantly moved through the landscape as nomads, gathering their food from the land, rather than staying put and farming and harvesting it,' he said.'But this building was constructed from substantial pieces of timber, and had a hearth for cooking and warmth.
It is one of the most dramatic images to ever emerge from Mars.In fact, this extraordinary photograph is so clear that even the sand dunes at the base of the half-mile wide canyon are visible.Experts even believe that they can see the tracks of a Mars lander on the left-hand corner of the Victoria Crater.
The image, taken by Nasa, shows in vivid detail the canyon which has lain undisturbed for somewhere between 10million and 100million years.Its peaceful history was only broken when a Nasa rover landed in 2006 and explored the area until August last year, leaving behind its trademark tracks.The space organisation's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter beaned down this stunning shot of the 800-metre-wide crater.The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, which took the camera, has been a useful aide in Mars exploration.
Its images helped the Mars Opportunity rover navigate around the edge of the crater, and even take cover when winds kicked up a dust-storm in 2007.Although the image looks like a 'top-down' shot, it was actually taken at an angle more akin to a passenger looking out of a plane window, allowing NASA to see more of the steep walls of the crater.Another image from the HiRISE captures a 'dust devil' leaving a trail and casting a shadow.
The whirlwinds form as the ground heats up during the daytime, which warms the air immediately above the surface.The hot layer of air rises and the cooler air above falls, and a horizontal gust of wind causes the air and any dust to rotate.Early estimates pin Victoria Crater at somewhere between 10 million and 100 million years old, but the rocks within the depression themselves are likely much older - as in a few billion years in age, researchers said.
This breathtaking picture captures the seconds before a daring surfer is engulfed by a monster wave.The spectacular shot was taken by surfer-turned-photographer Clark Little, who captured the incredible scene on Ke Iki beach, in Hawaii.The massive shorebreak was more than 8ft tall but luckily the surfer survived unscathed.
Such shorebreaks, caused when a wave hits the shallow water at the sand, are powerful enough to drag down unsuspecting surfers and have been known to cause neck and back injuries as it breaks.But Mr Little, from Oahu, Hawaii, is not afraid to jump into the water to capture the incredible power of the ocean on camera.The 40-year-old, who has been a photographer for just two years, leans on his 35 years' surfing experience to knows when to be in the right place at the right time.His efforts can involve actually getting into the waves themselves, which can be up to 5ft high.Mr Little uses a Nikon camera, which is protected with a waterproof housing and takes pictures at nine frames per second.While taking the pictures seems fraught with danger, the father-of-two says that he knows the ocean and his limits.He said: 'I just use my surfing experience and go in the waves.'I love the feeling of getting into the waves, I am addicted to shooting the shorebreaks but you need to know your limits and the ocean.'
This is the moment when an unsuspecting swan is ferociously attacked in mid-flight by an eagle who is half its size.The adult trumpeter swan was flying over a river when the bald eagle swooped out of nowhere bearing its talons.The eagle, with its massive two metre-wide wings outstretched, landed on the swan.
But remarkably after a five second struggle the plucky swan escaped the eagle's clutches and managed to fly down to the water.Smarting from its defeat the eagle, with its distinctive dark brown and white feathers, headed for some nearby trees.The stunning spectacle was captured by an amateur photographer Kelly Munday.The mum-of-two was watching the swan fly with a mate over the Lakelse River, in Terrace, British Columbia, when the eagle attacked.
She said: 'I was photographing the swans when the bald eagle came out of nowhere and attacked one of them.'They struggled for about five seconds and then the swan broke free, flew down to the water and seemed to be fine.'It was a spectacular few seconds and I was lucky enough to capture it.'The bald eagle normally eats smaller prey such as seagulls and fish but is known for its opportunist nature.Grahame Madge, a conservation spokesman for the RSPB, said: 'The bald eagle, America's national symbol, is often believed to be a supreme predator.'However, these 'magnificent' birds are usually happiest feeding on fish or scavenging for carrion along the tideline.'It was clearly an ambitious bird if it felt able to take on a bird the size of a trumpeter swan - one of the few birds even larger than a bald eagle.'
He is so tiny, visitors often assume he's a stuffed toy.Standing at 59cm tall, if Koda the horse wants an equal he has to turn to the vetinary cat for company.The 'American miniature' horse - who suffers the double-whammy of being born a dwarf - has had a bout of health problems caused by his size, but he is now recovering and enjoying the life of a pampered pet.
He is so tiny, visitors often assume he's a stuffed toy.Standing at 59cm tall, if Koda the horse wants an equal he has to turn to the vetinary cat for company.The 'American miniature' horse - who suffers the double-whammy of being born a dwarf - has had a bout of health problems caused by his size, but he is now recovering and enjoying the life of a pampered pet.The cheeky 'American miniature' horse was always meant to be small but at birth vets soon realised he was dinky even for his breed.'He was no bigger than a cat,' said his vet Andy Lynch. 'He was diagnosed as a dwarf soon after birth.'Koda's condition is rare and Lynch is amazed that he's still alive and kicking at 13-months-old despite a torrent of health problems.Brave Koda has had lots of surgery to correct his stumpy, buckled legs but that hasn't helped his peculiar face. His lower jaw juts out and he has bulging eyes, upturned nostrils and a wrinkled nose.'He had a punky look, a fuzzy forelock and his mane stuck up like a mohawk,' Dr Lynch said.
Koda's poor health prognosis left Dr Lynch with little doubt he should be put down.But veterinary nurse Karen Stephenson, 23, was astounded by the resilience and spirit of the pint-sized pony.'I'd never seen a miniature horse and I just thought him amazing,' she said.'I fell in love with him as soon as I saw him and thought he deserved a go at some good quality life, so I took him on.'Dr Lynch has performed about £5,000 worth of leg surgery on Koda, but his total vet's bill is expected to top £15,000.The next step is extensive dentistry to remove protruding adult teeth that won't fit in his little mouth.He has recovered well from every operation so far.'He's very brave and takes his medicine like a little man,' said Dr Lynch.'He's everyone's friend but he's also got a very naughty streak and he'll chew just about anything,' he added.
It looks like a catastrophic explosion in the latest sci-fi action thriller but this awe-inspiring image is actually based on the latest state-of-the-art space imaging.
The artist’s impression, inspired by the sharpest ever views of the supergiant star Betelgeuse, reveals an enormous plume of gas almost as big as our own Solar System blasting outwards.
The discoveries, revealed by the latest techniques on the European Space Agency’s Very Large Telescope, could help unravel why the mammoth plasma ball spews out material at such an incredible speed.
It looks like a catastrophic explosion in the latest sci-fi action thriller but this awe-inspiring image is actually based on the latest state-of-the-art space imaging.
The artist’s impression, inspired by the sharpest ever views of the supergiant star Betelgeuse, reveals an enormous plume of gas almost as big as our own Solar System blasting outwards.
The discoveries, revealed by the latest techniques on the European Space Agency’s Very Large Telescope, could help unravel why the mammoth plasma ball spews out material at such an incredible speed.
Almost 1,000 times larger than our sun, Betelgeuse is the second largest star in the constellation of Orion and one of the biggest stars known to man.
The red supergiant is also one of the most luminous stars, emitting 100,000 times more light than the Sun.
For decades, astronomers have struggled to explain how the mysterious red supergiants expel such vast amounts of material. They can shed the mass of the Sun in just 10,000 years.
One theory was that the loss could be shed from areas above the star’s polar caps as they rotate.
But the two teams, who have studied the supergiant with the NACO and AMBER instruments on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, have concluded that it is powerful gas motions within the star that force out the huge mass of gas.
The resulting image approaches the theoretical limit of resolution possible with the 8-metre telescope. It is so sharp it could even spot a tennis ball on the International Space Station from Earth.
‘Thanks to these outstanding images, we have detected a large plume of gas extending into space from the surface of Betelgeuse,’ lead researcher Pierre Kervella from the Paris Observatory told the website PhysOrg.
The plume bursts out to at least six times the diameter of the star - about the distance from Sun to Neptune.
‘This is a clear indication that the whole outer shell of the star is not shedding matter evenly in all directions,’ adds Kervella.
Keiichi Ohnaka from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, said: 'Our AMBER observations are the sharpest observations of any kind ever made of Betelgeuse.
'Moreover, we detected how the gas is moving in different areas of Betelgeuse’s surface - the first time this has been done for a star other than the Sun.
Combined, the unrivalled observations have led the astronomers to propose that these large-scale gas motions roiling under Betelgeuse’s red surface are behind the ejection of the massive plume into space.
A giant, anvil-shaped cloud bubbles up towards the Earth's stratosphere, looming over West Africa.The amazing formation would be invisible to anyone on the ground and would even be obscure from a regular passenger jet since they can reach up to 75,000ft.But astronauts captured the astonishing picture from hundreds of miles up as they orbited the globe on the International Space Station.Anvil clouds are formed mostly from ice and normally form in the upper parts of thunderstorms. They get their shape from the fact that rising warm air in thunderstorms expands and spreads out as the air bumps up against the bottom of the stratosphere.Streaks of snow are often seen falling out of the edges of anvils. This light snow usually evaporates as it falls through the relatively dry air surrounding the upper part of the thunderstorm.
Images released today showed Tom Marshburn and Christopher Cassidy doing final maintenance work on the exterior of the complex ahead of their departure today.The four-hour and 54-minute procedure involved rewiring, camera setup, tidying cables and installing handrails and a portable foot restraint to aid future spacewalkers.The five spacewalks together spanned a total of 30 hours.The team from the visiting Endeavour shuttle fitted Japan's new outdoor experiments platform with television cameras, completing the final task for the £1.45 billion Kibo complex.'Congratulations, you guys just completed the ... assembly,' Mission Control radioed once the second camera was secured.'I can verify from up close it is, indeed, a beautiful laboratory.'Space shuttle Endeavour's astronauts are inspecting their ship to make sure it's safe for Friday's landing.The survey of the wings and nose, being conducted Wednesday morning, is standard before a shuttle returns to Earth.Nasa wants to make sure Endeavour's heat shield was not pierced by micrometeorites or space junk during its two weeks in orbit. The astronauts used a laser-tipped boom to check for damage.Endeavour and its crew of seven left the international space station Tuesday.As the inspection was under way, an unmanned Russian vessel carrying several-thousand pounds of supplies docked at the station. Commander Gennady Padalka had to manually guide the craft in because of a problem with its automatic system.
Dogs can be darned tricky critters.So when you're in the saddle hold tight, keep your hat on and above all, let him know who's boss.This, at least, is how this tiny cowboy has stayed king of the rodeo for 18 years. That and his fabulous outfit of course.From the moment he rides into the rodeo ring on the back of his border collie, Whiplash the capuchin monkey is the star of the show.
With the help of his trusty steed, he rounds up a flock of startled sheep. Then there's the crowd's favourite 'hi-ho silver' moment when the collie becomes a bucking bronco and Whiplash rides tall in the saddle.Well, as tall as a 12in cowboy can.His owner, Tommy Lucia, 67, dismisses claims from animal campaigners that Whiplash would be better off in the rainforests of Central or South America, his native habitat.'I rescued him from a stinking cage in Florida when he was just a baby and I can assure you he'd let me know if life wasn't good,' he declared.Mr Lucia and Whiplash are regulars at the rodeo in Big Spring, Texas.But their fan base is rapidly growing. Like most 21-year-olds, Whiplash is on Facebook.And after starring in a TV ad for a taco restaurant chain, he is also an Internet hit, being seen by millions on YouTube.Mr Lucia says Whiplash keeps his collies on a short rein.'The sheepdogs know their place and he curses them like he does me if they are not doing what he says,' he said.'He's got such a strong will you never quite know what he's going to do - there's always a surprise. But he's a natural in the saddle.'When he's done for the day he goes to our motor home for dinner. His favourite foods are pears, apples, bananas and especially strawberries.'
